Author: Susan Coffin

Uncategorized

Mendocino Writers Conference- Part 2

Susan Coffin
The Morning of the Conference

Writing part two of my adventure at the Mendocino Writes Conference in Mendocino, California, has taken me longer than anticipated. Late summer and fall projects, Thanksgiving, and the holidays got in the way. So much happening, so little time. 

Now, at the dawn of 2025, I realize that my creative world is alive with new possibilities.   

That morning of the conference, as I stood in the registration line, I took in the diversity of the attendants- many different nationalities and ages, including teenagers. I recognized a few people from a past writers’ group, but most were strangers. The more I looked around, the more I realized that no matter our ages or our backgrounds or anything else, the one thing we all had in common was utilizing the written word to create magic.

In fact, as we all enjoyed breakfast in the large conference room, the conversations started.

“What do you write?”

“What workshop are you in?”

“Have you published anything yet?”

“What are your writing goals?”

The answers were as diverse as the attendees, from never published to several stories or books written. As for me, my answer was that I had published four short stories, had won some short story writing contests, and was currently working on a novel. Today, I answer that I have published four short stories, completed my 62,000-word novel, and am in the preliminary stages of editing. Now, I can say with certainty that the reason I was able to finish my novel, which was around 30,000 words or less when I attended the conference, was the three glorious days.

Speculative Fiction Writing Shop

When I walked into the classroom for speculative writing, I immediately felt at ease with the small group of about eight sitting at joined tables. After introductions and a brief yet informative lecture from the instructor on the nuts and bolts of speculative fiction, we began workshopping each other’s writing. This is when you receive feedback on the precious piece you have spent hours crafting, and you also provide feedback on other authors’ work. This process can sometimes feel brutal, even when feedback is delivered with kindness, and other times it validates our creative decisions, making you feel as if you’re walking on clouds.

The most important thing about attending a workshop is to listen and take notes while others talk about your work and give their honest feedback on what worked and what did not. You will have plenty of time to answer questions once your work has been fully dissected and everyone has provided their feedback.

When my two chapters were on the table (pun intended), I loved how everyone engaged with the character and her motives, as well as the tension I had created in the scenes. Much of the story revolves around church dogma and a centuries-old spiritual practice rejected by religion, so it was essential for my prose to be believable.

An important aspect of a creative writing workshop is the critique of your work. This critique is not criticism but rather suggestions for improving your writing. During this time, you must keep your ego in check and listen attentively while taking notes. If someone asks a question about your story, answer it, but keep your response brief. As mentioned earlier, questions are addressed at the end of the discussion for good reason: you hear more when you listen. 

Finishing Up

My big takeaway is the value of reading other writer’s work because it allowed me to step outside of my own world and into another’s. I become immersed in stories that are not my own. Also, seeing what does and does not work in other’s work informs my writing regarding technique, character, and structure. During this workshop, I did not read one piece that I did not find valuable.

This workshop also inspired me to finally finish my novel. When I attended the conference in August, I had reached around 30,000 words. On November 10, 2024, I typed “the end” at 61,211 words. That’s over 30,000 words in a little over two months! Last week, I started editing my work, which can be frustrating and exhilarating at the same time! 

Have you ever engaged in a writing workshop? What did you learn? 

writing

Mendocino and Writing- Part 1

Susan Coffin

Before the Conference

In my wildest dreams, I never expected to attend the 2024 Mendocino Writers’ Conference. The price was out of my budget, and I knew Mendocino lodging was expensive. But, as it were, the cards fell into place and told the story. I received a great deal because the conference price had been discounted, and the first inn I called in Mendocino had a private two-story vacation rental that was part of a bigger historic 1800’s home in town. As it turns out, the venue for the conference was a five-minute drive across the freeway from where I would be living for the next three days. It all seemed too good to be true, and I waited for the other shoe to drop. 

When I signed up for the conference, I had to choose a workshop that was to take place every morning from 9 a.m. to noon. Because I had signed up just three weeks before the conference, most of the workshops were filled so I chose Speculative Fiction.

Easy breezy, lemon squeezy, I was ready to go!

Wait, not so fast!

I quickly learned that being a part of a workshop at this conference meant I had to submit a piece of speculative fiction, with a word limit of 6,000 words. I also learned that I had to read nine other speculative fiction stories at least twice and submit a one-page paper outlining the plot, what I like about the story, and any questions or confusing parts.    

Now, anybody who knows me knows that I often take things literally and that I am exact when it comes rules, guidelines, and the like. Well, in order to follow the rules I needed to know what I was dealing with. 

I researched the definition of speculative fiction and Google provided a general definition of “a genre of fiction that encompasses work in which in which the setting is other than the real world, involving supernatural, futuristic, or other imagined elements.”  This definition was not exact enough, so I dug deeper and discovered from Wikipedia that speculative fiction is an umbrella for subgenres such as science fiction, horror, fantasy, and the supernatural.

Well, I was around 40,000 words into my supernatural novel, so I decided to submit the first two chapters of my novel.  Up until a few days before the deadline to submit, I reworked the first two chapters until I thought the premise was clear, the characters were fleshed out, and there were plenty of visuals to keep my audience engaged. 

The afternoon before the conference, I maneuvered my little white Toyota through the majestic redwoods until the misty fog and the ocean air met me with open arms.  As soon as I reached the village of Mendocino, I checked into my private vacation rental and immediately fell in love with its charm: the clawfoot bathtub, the wood floors painted yellow, the old electric stove, the all too steep stairs that led up to a loft with the bed and a writing desk overlooking the pond in the yard. 

That night, with the fresh ocean air whispering through the open windows, I worked on my novel at the writer’s desk in the bedroom loft. As I typed away on my laptop, Jack London and Wolf House and John Steinbeck and his waterfront writing studio came to mind. While a writer can create masterpieces anywhere, there is something magical about having a special place to write without too many disturbances. 

The night before the conference, I went to sleep early so, the next morning, I could take my time getting ready. At 8 a.m. as I walked through the conference doors, I felt much like I did on my first day of high school;  a little scared but glad to be embarking on a new experience, with both shoes still on my feet.

Be on the lookout for Part 2, which will be all about the conference. 

Uncategorized

Where Attention goes….

Susan Coffin

…EnergyPicture1 Flows. 

At least that is what I have seen manifest in my own life. Whenever I have focused on anything, whether it be positive or negative, it has happened, and often with exaggeration. I’m not talking about the things that happen in life that are beyond our control, I am talking about intent to move our creative self in a certain direction.   

These last several years, I have been working hard on keeping my eye in the realm of positive.  Not in the way of saying I don’t want something to happen but by putting it out there exactly what I do want. 

Focus can be general, such as I want to succeed at my writing.  This means at the minimum putting words to paper, but anything beyond that is relative and open to interpretation.

Focus can be specific, such as I want to publish my novel.  This means completing my novel to the best of my ability and taking all the steps necessary to get my work into print, whether it be self-publishing or taking the traditional route. 

Each day that I focus my energy on writing and take the time to write is success, and each step forward takes me closer to my end goal. 

I have been setting aside 45 minutes to an hour most days to write on my novel. Sometimes it’s 200 words, other times it’s 500 and upwards. This is my selfcare just like walking and running or mediation and prayer.

Where is your focus?   

General Writing · Journeys · storytelling · Time management · writing · Writing and Family

Writing, But Not What I Expected

Susan Coffin

I did not expect to fall in love with ancestral writing.  This type of prose differs from memoir but has many of the same elements- a snapshot of the ancestor’s life with an inciting event that leads to a conclusion. The beginning and ending are linked with a unique phrase or concept. However, whereas memoirs are generally book-length, ancestral pieces are generally shorter. 

Ancestral stories are intentionally void of non-fiction. You can certainly add impressions of what could have happened or elements of your own introspection, but it must be clear what is fact and what is not. 

So far, I have written about my paternal second great-grandmother who helped establish Cordell, Oklahoma, a paternal second great-grandfather who was a prominent farmer in Oklahoma, and great-grandmothers on both sides of the family who died young from disease and forever changed the lives of their infant sons. I continue writing these family stories and sharing them with my ancestral writing group created by our local genealogical society.  I have some exciting characters in my blood family!

That said, I have not accomplished much lately with writing fiction.  Now, being on a two-week staycation from my paralegal work, my goal is to redistribute my schedule so that I can do some serious writing each day.  I will not be picking up old unfinished work, some of which might not ever see the light of day.

I have decided a new beginning is what I need now.    

Today, I started working on a new novel using an idea that I have been chewing on over the last few days. 

A novel with a catchy title and twists and turns in the prose.  Unusual elements become characters in least expected ways.

A thriller with elements of my life of living at a lake—real life events slathered with embellishment to push readers to the edge of wherever they happen to be.    

Like I said, I love ancestral writing, but I have also missed writing fiction. 

Carry on, keep writing.    

Uncategorized

The Mystery of My Great-Grandfather

Susan Coffin

For years I have been delving into genealogy, especially after my maternal Grandmother, Hazel, died and I was gifted with a box of her research that none of the family wanted or understood. The box was large and heavy with binders, notes, photographs, and treasures that made my heart sing and set me on my journey toward researching my maternal family lines. Sometime later, I was also gifted with two volumes of rich well-written stories of my grandparents’ lives during the early 1900s, as told to one of my aunts. The truth is, I always knew more about my maternal side than my paternal, but I had a mystery to solve.

Grandma Hazel was the family historian for many years but she was never able to find information regarding Grandpa Marty’s mother who died when he was three years old. In those days, before the internet made family research commonplace, it was difficult to get your hands on essential documents unless you made a trip to the building where the information was stored, or you wrote letters and waited for weeks for a response. In the quest to find my great-grandmother, I easily picked up where Grandma left off.

Grandpa’s mother’s name was Johanna “Hannah” Buetow Bauman. For hours each weekend, I worked on Ancestry dot com looking for information to piece Hannah’s young life together. After digging, I found a census record showing that she lived in Minnesota in the late 1800s until her death. After I pinned down a city and details about her father. I finally found some online newspapers that led me to both her and her father’s obituary! However, I was not able to access the information due to a paywall that I could not afford. As I was about to give up, I contacted the appropriate newspaper to see how I could get the two obituaries for less than a subscription price. By providing details that I already knew from family stories and from my own research, I was offered the obituaries via email at no charge!

So, here is the story of my great-grandmother Hannah Buetow who passed away in 1919 at 27 years years young, leaving behind four children ranging in age from six down to two years old. Grandpa Marty was three years old when Hannah died, and his heart never forgot her.

The headline in the newspaper reads in big bold capital letters: MOTHER OF FOUR DEAD.

The subtitle reads: Sad Death of Mrs. Hannah Buetow Bauman in Itasca County – HERE FOR BURIAL – Two Weeks Earlier she Accompanied Family to New Home.

The obituary tells the story of a young mother with hour children who followed her husband to a small claim he held in the wilderness of Itasca County, 20 or so miles from Deer River. He had gone ahead to get the house everything ready for the family, and two weeks after Johanna and the children- Alvin, Harold, Martin, and Elise- arrived she was dead with Diphtheria. With the plethora of obituary details, I was able to strengthen Hannah’s branch to my family tree, and I was able to see what type of person she was- kind, caring, and very loving.

This type of experience is what I love most about genealogy; searching for detailed information about ancestors so that I may get an idea of what type of person they were, what they cared about, and how they went about their daily lives. I

Next time, I hope to share the story of my paternal great-grandfather who died very young. In the meantime, fruitful searching and happy writing!